In the Aftermath

by residentcactus

Summary:

Sera stays with John when they have to return to Wellston.

There's a few conversations to be had.

Notes:

• For Alllis_da_idiot.

For reference this is set around Ep. 282. Very much canon compliant.

For Hurt, rejoice, all your favourite critters are happy (:

A couple of hours after they wake up from their spots on the couch, Doc decides that they're healed enough to head back to Wellston and he makes sure to tell John and Sera. His tone is abrasive, but the undercurrents of worry are more than apparent. "Get going, now."

John hovers by the door as Leilah speaks to Sera in hushed tones. Sera's eyes narrow, but she seems to agree with whatever her estranged sister has to say. They both turn to look at him, and he pushes back from against the wall and walks towards them.

"John," she begins. "Darren and I both agree that it isn't safe for the two of you to be alone right now. There's a high chance that there might be more people sent after you."

He nods.

Leilah smiles. It's a faint, fleeting one, more akin to a grimace, but she carries on. "But it's also not going to be too safe for the two of you here. On the off chance that I'm being tracked, this'll be the first place that they'll look. In fact, I'd say the safest place for the two of you is your school dorms."

"There's something more, though, isn't there? We were already planning on heading back to Wellston."

"Correct. You two will have to stick together."

"That's fine by me, but it'd have to be John's dorm. I'd much rather tell Blyke about this than Elaine," Sera says.

"Yeah, that works, I guess."

---

A teleport and a quick walk later, John finds himself back on school grounds. He turns left to follow the path that will lead him back to his dorm room, when Sera places a hand on his shoulder. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

"Uhhh," he answers, rather intelligently.

"I have to pack some of my stuff cause I can't run between your room and mine every single day."

Yeah, but what's that got to do with me?

Sera seems to read his mind and her eyes glint. She points at herself. "We gotta stick together. So. You. Will. Help. Me. Pack."

"Yay!" he replies weakly.

"Mm, that's a good amount of enthusiasm, keep it up."

Elaine, thankfully, is not in, judging by the darkened lights. A small mercy, he supposes, as he makes a move towards one of the chairs in the kitchen.

Unsurprisingly, Sera stops him."You know the drill, John. We have to-"

"Stick together," he finishes. He runs a hand through his hair. "I know, I know. But you're doing this because you enjoy tormenting me."

Sera smiles. He sighs and follows her into her room. "The things I do for you."

"It's fun. And besides," she adds, "You know I'm worth it."

And that's true. She is.

They fall into silence for a bit after that, the quiet only being punctuated by the sounds of clothes being thrown and aired. John looks up from his spot on the cool tile to where Sera is, on the bed. "Do you think the blue shirt suits me better than the pink one?"

He glances between the two- an oversized band tee and one of her favourite off-the shoulder tops. "I mean, you look good in both of them?"

"Well then, I suppose I'll just have to take both."

A few more piles of outfits later, Sera pauses. "Oh. That reminds me. We should get the suitcases out. Do you mind, John? They're by the cupboard in the hall."

John gets up, stretching to wake up his limbs when he pauses. "Plural?"

"Yeah," she replies, completely unabashedly. "The blue one is Elaine's, and the other two are mine."

"You're not moving, though? It's not gonna be for that long, either."

Sera stares at him. John looks away. "Sure, I'll bring both of them."

Once he gets to them, he calls out. "Both the suitcases are those huge, heavy duty ones, too?"

And then, Sera is all packed and ready to go. She slings a backpack over her shoulder, and John grabs both suitcases. The walk to his dorm goes by much faster, partly due to neither of them wanting to explain why they're carrying so much luggage if a student notices.

John unlocks the door, and points to his room. "That one's mine. Blyke'll probably be back in a bit."

Sera enters his room. "Damn, that's depressing. Not even a single poster? Would've expected your room to have been a little messy, at the very least." The last part is muttered under her breath, but John knows she meant for him to hear it.

"You came to my house before! I'm not a slob."

"Yeah but on the plus side, that means that there's space for all my clothes!"

"Sera," he begins slowly. "When you say all, did you really bring all of your clothes?"

"I left a few old tops behind, but yeah. Priorities."

"Sera!" he whines. "It's just for a few days. You really didn't need to bring everything!"

She shrugs. "Your room has nothing in it, anyways. Might as well brighten the place up- Oh hey, Blyke."

His roommate nods at them, before turning to the veritable pile of luggage. "You guys are back! What's with all this stuff, though? Is someone moving in?"

"Yeah. I am."

Blyke screeches."YOU!" His face turns to a complexion of intense crimson that only rivals the shade of his hair. He sputters, as the cogs in his brain spin rapidly, violently, and derail whatever fragile system there is in there."This- this is the boy's dorm," he emphasizes, pointing a shaking, scandalized finger at them. "You can't be spending the night here! That's against the rules."

Before Blyke begins to combust, John interrupts. "No one needs to know."

Blyke blinks slowly. He shakes his head. "Okay, but I need an explanation. First, you almost get yourselves assassinated."

Huh!

Blyke continues, oblivious to John's fully body flinch."Then you disappear for days, and now this? What the hell is going on?"

"How did you know that someone tried to kill us?"

"Uh," he winces. Not making eye contact with them, he replies. "I saw it in the news, and managed to piece it together."

The fuck? It wasn't even covered by the news. Damn, he's a terrible liar.

Yeah? I wonder why you're so proud about that trait of yours. Served you well, didn't it?

"O-okay! Your turn," Blyke says, at least half an octave higher than his usual tone. "I'd like an explanation, please!"

Sera crosses her arms. "We were advised to stay close to each other, in case more attackers come after us. I suggest you, Remi, and Isen keep an eye on one another too. Spectre is starting to move."

Blyke's expression hardens. "Just thinking about what happened in Rowden pisses me off. I'm sorry your abilities were taken like that- I can't possibly imagine what it's like for you guys right now. If you need help kicking Spectre's ass, you let me know."

"Thanks, Blyke."

---

Blyke retreats to his room almost immediately, and Sera lugs one of her suitcases into John's room. She places it in the corner furthest from the door, and immediately begins rummaging through it. John opens up his own cupboard to scrounge for some spare sheets.

"Argh! I could've sworn that I kept them here."

"Ah, the slob part was for the inside, then, huh? What are you looking for though?"

"C'mon! Just a few bedsheets so that I can take the floor." He stretches his arm towards the very back of the shelf in an attempt to materialize something there. "Found them!"

Once John spreads the sheets out over the floor, Sera launches a pillow. "I'm going to head to the kitchen. We should probably eat something."

John opens up the fridge, pulling out a carton of milk, and double checks the date. Sera opens up a drawer to rummage for something nutritious.

"How do you even survive? There's no fruits in here? And no spices. I just pulled out a can of," her voice trails off as she checks the label. "Something. I'm horrified and mildly impressed."

"Hey! Most of this is Blyke's fault. I eat better than he does. Blyke just goes for whatever is out in the open, and I highly doubt he knows that we have food in places other than the counter top and fridge."

Sera huffs out a laugh, and peers into another drawer. "Cat food?"

"Oh. I completely forgot about that."

Sera tilts her head, urging him to continue.

"It's a bit of a story, I guess? Let's eat and then I'll tell you."

---

Sera doesn't forget about that. The moment they finish washing the dishes, and settle next to each other on the floor by the bed, she reminds him. "So, about that cat food?"

"I took care of a cat for a few days, during the, y'know, week before I got suspended and all."

John watches as Sera's brows raise as she calculates just when, and just how horribly he was doing then. "I went for a walk and then I saw this cat. And it was raining, so I couldn't just leave it there. Couldn't sleep and all, so I went to this one convenience store nearby- not really close but it's like a mile away- so not too far either, and I got some cat food and toys for Mango. And yeah, that's about it. Took care of a cat for a while, forgot to get rid of the leftover food."

"Yeah? Mango is a cute name. I'm surprised that you were able to handle a cat. I still remember what happened when I tried get you to pet a cat."

"I suppose I'm just that cool. Besides, she was this super friendly cat, and," John's voice trails off, and he brings his knees close to his chest.

Sera places a hand on his shoulder, and John relaxes despite how cold her palms are. "You miss Mango a lot, huh?"

"It's stupid, isn't it?" he laughs. "I had the cat for like four days at the very most, I was the one who gave her to the vet, and I'm acting all sad about it."

"It's not stupid to miss her, okay? Was she sick or anything like that? Is that why you had to give her to the vet?"

"Nah, she was healthy as could be, I'm pretty sure. I just… wasn't doing too well, and Blyke was staying at Isen's dorm, then if something happened to me, there wouldn't have been anyone around to take care of her. Besides, I don't particularly think that I deserved something as good as Mango, if you get what I'm saying. She's much better off, now, since she's not with me."

She frowns.

"Don't worry too much about it, Sera."

"Maybe."

They fall into that same comfortable silence for a while.

"Hey, John?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad you're doing better, now."

"Me too, Sera. Thanks."

Notes:

I wrote this in one sitting, and my other fics stare and beg to be let out of their confines.

No Mango yet, sadly, but now the Sera gets to know about the cat! Yipee.

Comments are my lifeblood <<333 have a slay winter break ahead.

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 2 of Life is always better with a cat